Beta testing is crucial in many realms – software, for example, or product development or even creative writing. It’s like a test drive of a concept by a target audience.
But what about playgrounds?
Can an existing playground with brand-new equipment be successfully beta-tested to ensure it meets the needs of its target audience?
Answer: Absolutely.
Four Blythe Park Elementary School students came together the afternoon of Sept. 15 to beta test the upgraded playground nearby to make sure every new piece of equipment was up to snuff for their schoolmates and other youngsters who live in the neighborhood.
This was hard work. The design from DLA Architects, approved by the Riverside School District 96 board of education last October and by the village of Riverside the subsequent month, was executed by Shorewood-based D&J Landscaping. The design expanded the previous park’s footprint and will accommodate up to 135 children.
But for the beta testers, that’s all bureaucratic mumbo-jumbo … despite the fact that their testing session happened about an hour before a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony, including school board members and village dignitaries.
So what did they think, collectively?
Impressive. Most impressive.
Especially the green tower in the middle of the space, complete with ropes and bridges to cross. Blythe Park fourth grader Teddy Bruesewitz was a big fan.
“It’s fun climbing on it,” Bruesewitz said, adding, “It’s way better than the other park. There’s more climbing.”
And who doesn’t love climbing, besides a middle-aged reporter afraid of falling? Bruesewitz’s fifth-grade counterpart, Reagan McShane, was in wholehearted agreement.
“I think that it’s very important for kids to have more choices and a lot more things to do to collaborate and work as a team,” she said. Her favorite was the tower, too, especially the bridges.
Henry Rogina is a second grader. He said the new park is a huge improvement over the previous version because “all the slides are way better than the old slides and the swings are better.” He also loved an interlocking amalgamation of logs on one end of the park.
Finally, there was third grader Charlotte Bennett, who beamed as she climbed on the logs and shimmied her way up the tower.
“I think because this is a new experience for our classmates, because this park is more climby than the old park,” Bennett said. “I think this is more active.”
A little later, the district and village dignitaries began rolling in, observing a whole gaggle of young’uns playing on the new equipment. As they assembled for the ribbon cutting, they also observed with delight a new blue basketball court behind them.
The big question for Wesley Muirheid, District 96 school board president, was how the real McCoy compared to the various renderings that were shown throughout the approval process?
“Actually, the renderings and the animations are almost identical to the pieces of equipment you have out here,” Muirheid said.
But while the bureaucratic stuff might be considered by some to be mumbo-jumbo, it was a necessary part of the process to get to Tuesday afternoon, he said.
“This has been a long time coming,” he said. “The school district doesn’t actually own this property, so we had to work with the village … They were interested in getting a playground done. It fit with their strategic vision along with our strategic vision. We got the ball moving.”
Nearby, Village President Doug Pollock was having fun just watching the kids smiling and enjoying themselves, along with the ice cream cart.
“I think it’s real close,” Pollock said. “It’s what I expected from seeing the renderings. The designers did a great job. They listened to the community. The colors match our scheme in Riverside, natural colors that fit in with the environment.”
Again, lots of meetings and discussions made this happen.
“This is the way government is supposed to work,” Pollock said. “Local government in particular, where the different taxing bodies cooperate for the benefit of both. The school district gets their park, we get a park for all the residents, we did the multi-purpose court.”
Riverside Village Manager Jessica Francis agreed.
“Super-happy with the outcome,” Francis said. “Doing a park of this size can come with its challenges. The school district was great with us navigating and collaborating those different challenges and coming up with some really great solutions with this final product.”
Francis noted she hadn’t actually tried any of the equipment, but she pointed to the tower as perhaps her favorite.
Then again, they all have merit.
“Any of the pieces, you see the kids climbing up on it, it makes you feel great,” she said.
